This invention relates generally to in-floor, flush poke-through wiring or service fittings for enabling activation of power, communication and/or data services at the in-floor locations of the fittings. More particularly, the present invention relates to flush poke-through wiring fittings that may be mounted in a larger diameter holes than previously thought possible while still satisfying fire code standards and that can support up to four RJ-45 Category 5 jacks internally so as to have the jacks' upper faces (that is, the faces which accept RJ-45 Category 5 connectors) substantially flush with the top surface of the poke-through fittings.
In the past, poke-through fittings were installed in an opening in a floor, such as a concrete slab or steel deck, in a building structure such as an office building. The floor opening had diameters of two inches or at the most three inches. The three inch floor opening size was thought, by those skilled in the art, to be a critical, maximum size limitation for enabling poke-through fittings to meet the stringent fire rating standards set by UL and other local governments.
Poke-through fittings were and are utilized to enable the activation of power, communication and/or data signal services at the poke-through fitting's location. As explained in U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,643, source power and signal cables, loosely positioned in a plenum, which is between the ceiling of the floor below and the floor above (that is, the floor in which the opening is in), may be pulled from the plenum and connected with or passed through the poke-through fitting for activation of services for and on the floor above. More specifically, high voltage source power cables have been connected with power receptacles, mounted in the poke-through fittings, to provide above-floor, in-floor outlets for, for example, power plugs for above-floor electrical and electronic equipment. Lower voltage service cables have been passed through the poke-through fitting to provide above floor connections between these cables and equipment positioned on the floor above.
In some instance, certain poke-through fittings have been able to accommodate relatively small data signal fittings, such as RJ-11 and RJ-45 fittings, internally. These relatively small signal fittings could not, however, be supported internally in the poke-through fittings so that their receptor faces (that is, the portions which are adopted to be connected with above floor signal transferring devices) were substantially flushed with the upwardly-facing portion of a flush poke-through fitting. Because of the previous perceived limitation on the size of the floor openings, the spacial relationships or proximity between the power receptacles and these relatively small data signal in poke-through fittings was necessarily close. The data signal fittings were subject to substantial interference, with respect to the signals being transferred, resulting from electromagnet ("E.M.") interference and radio frequency ("R.F.") interference from the power receptacle in the poke-through fittings. Such E.M. and R.F. interferences can be major factors in altering important signals. In the past, such poke-through internal fitting has not been provided with protection against such interferences. Additionally, poke-through fittings have not included substantial ground access for draining such E.M. and R.F. interferences.
In the past, no poke-through fitting has been able to accommodate internally the larger, improved, modular wired RJ-45 Category 5 jacks that are capable of transferring voice or data up to 100 megabits per second and that have become the standard for computer data transfer, particularly in connecting telecommunication devices to network systems. Similarly, these prior poke-through fittings have not been able to accommodate a variety of standard receptacles for power services, including isolated ground, surge suppressor, ground fault and receptacles that include a plurality of external pods for securing the receptacle face to the bottom cup.
In the past, fire retarding material, generally intumescent material, has been disposed in poke-through fittings for retarding the transmission of heat and flame from a fire in the plenum. Intumescent material may be activated upon exposure to a fire's heat and flames, rising through the floor opening from a fire below the floor. The intumescent material absorbs the heat and expands under pressure to form a flexible foam, which fills open spaces in the floor opening and hardens into a refractory char with increasing temperature. The fire retarding material functions to enable the fire rating of the floor to be substantially the same with or without the floor opening and fitting therein.
It is known that intumescent materials, which are a hydrated compound, tend over time to age (that is, to become hardened by absorbing moisture or water). Poke-through fittings are frequently used in new buildings having concrete floors, and thus the moisture in the new concrete is a ready source of moisture for absorption by the intumescent material.
In the past, fire-retardant intumescent material have been made and stored in flat sheets, and the sheets have been cut into desired shapes for fitting in poke-through fittings. These sheets were sandwiched between top and bottom layers of protective materials, but the cut, side edges of the intumescent material remain exposed since they are not covered by the protective layers. This exposure facilitated the degradation rate of the intumescent material. As noted, high humidity environments--such as in new construction environments where a curing concrete slab floor will experience extensive evaporation--accelerates the aging process of the intumescent material.
In the past, skilled persons working in the art also recognized that just including more and more layers of intumescent material in a poke-through fitting would not enable poke-through fittings to be used in a larger diameter floor openings. Intumescent material acts as a heat insulator. Thus while the lower layers of the intumescent material (that is, the layers closest to a plenum fire) might expand and char as normal, the upper layers would not fully expand and char because of the insulting effects of the lower layers. Additionally, including more intumescent materials in a poke-through fitting tended to cause "pop up" the fitting to poke-through, making the fitting stick up above surface of the floor above. Such "popped up" or "stuck-up" poke-through fittings posed hazards to the fire fighters and fire hoses on the floor above.